Miss Forensics – Chapter 81

Volume One: First Scroll

Snowy Night

What Lin Yan offered was her own heart—battered, broken, tattered, yet spotlessly clean.

Interrogation Room.

Because it was just a routine inquiry, the person sitting opposite him wasn’t handcuffed; they even poured him a glass of water.

Song Yuhang pulled out a chair and sat down. Lin Yan and Zheng Chengrui were outside, staring at the surveillance feed on the screen.

The case officer accompanying the interrogation opened the record book. “Where were you between four and five o’clock yesterday morning?”

The man sitting opposite wore a black leather jacket, a thick gold chain around his neck, and gold rings on his fingers, as if afraid people wouldn’t know he was a nouveau riche¹. He answered while jiggling his leg.

“Drinking at Rain Bar. What’s wrong?”

Song Yuhang passed over a photo—it was of Gao Qiang. “Do you know this person?”

The gold-chained nouveau riche, smoking a cigarette, glanced at it and let out a “Hai².” “Yeah, I know him. Isn’t he the one who owes money and won’t pay up?”

Song Yuhang watched him impassively. “You knew he owed money and wouldn’t pay, yet you still drank with him?”

The gold-chained man chuckled twice, “Heh heh,” and stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray. “There’s no law saying you can’t drink with someone who owes money, right? Besides, Officer, you don’t know that kid. Even though he’s down on his luck, he’s still the second young master of a big company. His family’s loaded. Even if he’s stingy, he can still cough up a little something, don’t you think?”

The case officer continued to ask, “How much money did he owe you?”

The gold-chained man frowned and calculated. “All in all, including interest, probably around a hundred thousand³.”

“When did he start borrowing money from you?”

“Around the time his family ran into trouble.” His mouth was dry from smoking. The gold-chained man leaned back in his chair, drained the water from the disposable paper cup, and asked for a refill.

“Another cup, another cup. Make it tea this time.”

The accompanying criminal police officer glanced at Song Yuhang. Song Yuhang nodded, and he went out with the paper cup.

Soon, a steaming cup of tea was delivered to him.

Song Yuhang toyed with the pen in her hand and said lightly, “You probably won’t get your money back. He’s dead.”

The man opposite hadn’t even swallowed his mouthful of water when he spat it all out with a “Pfft!”

“Cough, cough, cough… Damn it… No way, right? Tissues, tissues! My f#cking leather jacket…” the gold-chained man said, grabbing tissues to wipe the water off himself.

The two people opposite him were both watching him. He raised his head, a hint of alarm now in his eyes.

“You called me in today—you don’t suspect I killed him, do you?!” The gold-chained man raised two fingers and swore to the heavens.

“I swear to Heaven and Earth⁴, Officer! After he left last night, I was still drinking with a bunch of friends at Rain. We drank until almost dawn. I didn’t go out at all! If you don’t believe me, check the surveillance, check the surveillance!”

They had already obtained the bar’s surveillance footage. Gao Qiang had indeed entered and left alone. If someone had tailed him, this man wouldn’t be sitting here smoking and drinking tea now; he would have been served with silver bracelets⁵ long ago.

Song Yuhang’s lips twitched into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Who else was drinking with you? Write down their names and phone numbers. Do you remember how much you drank? Did anyone pressure others to drink during that time?”

The case officer got up and handed him a pen and paper. The gold-chained man shook his head. “I don’t remember how much we drank. Pressuring to drink? I don’t think so. That kid drank like a fish, like he hadn’t had a drink in eight lifetimes⁶. He drank several of us under the table.”

In another interrogation room, another person involved that night was seated, giving a similar account.

Lin Yan, holding a cup of coffee, leaned against a table, watching the large screen thoughtfully.

The iron door clanged open. The gold-chained man straightened his clothes and walked out. As he passed Lin Yan, he glanced at her a couple of times. Song Yuhang followed closely behind, subtly blocking the man’s line of sight.

“Don’t leave the country anytime soon. We’ll contact you if anything comes up.”

“Okay, okay, okay.” The gold-chained man shrugged indifferently. As soon as he was out, he wanted to smoke again, pulling a cigar from his pocket and lighting it. “Hey, you guys have quite a few beauties in this station.”

No one paid him any attention. A young criminal police officer came over to escort him out.

His last glimpse was of the female officer who had just interrogated him, her arm around Lin Yan’s waist, protectively guiding her in the opposite direction. It wasn’t the shoulder-patting or arm-linking of siblings, but a direct embrace around the waist, a silent declaration of sovereignty.

The gold-chained man rubbed his nose and swaggered out.

---

Song Yuhang drove her home. Lin Yan had just had a cup of coffee but didn’t feel particularly energized; she was still a bit drowsy.

She covered her mouth, yawned, and asked, “Do you think his suspicion can be cleared?”

“From what we’ve seen so far, there are no suspicious points. The time, testimony, and surveillance footage all match up.”

While waiting at a red light, Song Yuhang squeezed her hand. “Don’t fall asleep in the car, you’ll catch a cold.”

Lin Yan gazed out the window, neon lights flowing past her eyes, a hint of loneliness in them. “It’s good that Gao Qiang is dead. Even if he were alive, he might not have gotten the death penalty. Everyone who has harmed others should pay the price.”

Song Yuhang didn’t discuss this issue with her. Emotionally, she leaned more towards Lin Yan’s view, but her profession and identity meant she couldn’t let her feelings dictate her actions.

Everyone is equal before the law. It won’t go easy on you because you were a good person before, nor will it kick you when you’re down because you’re a bad person. Besides, the boundary between “good” and “bad” is inherently subjective and vague. The world has never been black and white.

It’s a delicate shade of gray.

The red light turned green. Song Yuhang stepped on the accelerator. “Perhaps it really was just an accident. I still want to believe that good and evil will eventually meet their due.”

The gold-chained man, having walked out of the city bureau entrance, quickly blended into the crowd. Using the rearview mirror of a parked car on the roadside, he glanced back and noticed several plainclothes officers following him.

He quickened his pace, crossed at the traffic light, and just as he stepped onto the opposite side of the road, the green light turned red. The flow of traffic blocked the plainclothes officers behind him.

The gold-chained man turned down a few small alleys and completely disappeared from the plainclothes officers’ sight.

In a phone booth on the street, he dialed a number. The call was quickly connected.

“Hello?” He was slightly out of breath. “I’m being watched.”

The voice on the other end, however, was calm and steady, not flustered at all.

“Don’t worry, let them follow. Nowadays, the cops focus on hard evidence over confessions⁷. If they can’t find anything on you after a few days, they’ll naturally give up.”

However, what surprised him somewhat was that even without any fingerprint evidence, they persisted with the investigation. He had thought Lin Yan would hate Gao Qiang to the bone.

The person on the other end seemed to chuckle softly.

The gold-chained man swallowed. “Then I…”

“Go out now. For the next few days, eat what you usually eat, drink what you usually drink. Act as you normally do. Deliberately hiding will only arouse suspicion.”

The gold-chained man nodded and covered the mouthpiece tightly. “Also… it seems they’re really together.”

There was a three-second silence on the other end. The man tilted his head back and downed his red wine in one gulp.

“I understand.”

At Lin Yan’s doorstep.

Song Yuhang unbuckled her seatbelt. “When are you going to call Lin Ge and ask him out for a meal?”

Lin Yan glanced at her watch. “Now, I guess. It’s only a little past nine, he’s probably not asleep yet.”

Besides, she hadn’t had a chance to clearly ask Song Yuhang about… that thing earlier.

“Alright, put it on speaker. I won’t say anything.”

Lin Yan clicked her tongue, “Tsk. Are you going to interrogate me too?”

“Makes sense. Let’s do the interrogation in bed.”

Lin Yan swung her shoulder bag at her. “Give you an inch and you take a mile⁸!”

Just then, the call connected. Song Yuhang watched her clear her throat and pressed the speakerphone button.

“Hello, Lin Ge, it’s me. Are you free tomorrow? I want to visit Auntie, and we can have a meal together.”

Lin Ge’s voice was a bit hoarse. “It’s alright, don’t make a special trip. She’s in a sterile room now and can only come home on Friday. Let’s meet at home then.”

Lin Yan thought for a moment, glanced at Song Yuhang, and said, “Alright, then let’s have a meal together tomorrow. It’s been a while…”

Lin Ge chuckled softly. “It’s rare for you to even think of me. Alright, where should we eat?”

“Aiya, am I really that heartless?” Lin Yan protested mildly. “Whatever. I haven’t had hotpot in ages. Let’s do hotpot.”

Lin Ge nodded. “Okay, you pick the place.”

“Then let’s say eight o’clock tomorrow night. I’ll send you the details in a bit. Don’t stand me up⁹.”

“Don’t stand me up.”

After hanging up, Song Yuhang kept looking at her.

Lin Yan put her phone back in her bag. “What’s wrong?”

Song Yuhang studied her lips. “Indeed heartless.”

“What kind of nonsense is this now?” Lin Yan scoffed, pushed open the car door to get out, but it didn’t budge.

She turned back to look at Song Yuhang.

That person’s gaze was burning.

A slight smile touched Lin Yan’s lips. “Aren’t you going home?”

Song Yuhang shook her head. “Wouldn’t Forensic Doctor Lin welcome me up for a visit?”

Now that the unspoken had been acknowledged¹⁰, Lin Yan became even more audacious. She leaned back against the seat, looked askance at her, a faint, teasing smile on her lips.

“Which kind of ‘visit’ are we talking about?”

Her red lips parted slightly, her amorous eyes brimming with a captivating, flirtatious smile that made one’s heart itch with desire.

Song Yuhang leaned over and kissed her. “They’re both verbs anyway. No difference.”

Although Song Yuhang was a novice, she learned quickly. The two of them went back and forth, evenly matched.

This position was a bit inconvenient, so Song Yuhang reached out and pulled Lin Yan over from the passenger seat.

Lin Yan was panting, bracing herself on Song Yuhang’s shoulders, feeling that if this continued, she wouldn’t be able to get up again tomorrow.

“You can sleep at my place, but no funny business.”

Song Yuhang, in high spirits, bit open a button on her shirt. “Then I won’t sleep. We’ll just do it in the car.”

“You—” Lin Yan was about to die of anger. She shook Song Yuhang’s shoulders and yelled, “Are you f#cking trying to tire me to death?!”

Song Yuhang laughed, pressing her forehead against Lin Yan’s. “Alright, alright, we won’t do it. Let’s go up.”

Lin Yan rummaged through cabinets and drawers, looking for toiletries for her. “If you’re going to stay over often in the future, we’ll need to get some more things. After all, it’s not good for you to wear my clothes to work every day.”

Feng Jianguo had been puffing his beard and glaring at her these past few days, but Lin Yan didn’t care. If they transferred her, the Jiangcheng City Bureau’s Technical Investigation Department could pretty much close down immediately.

Song Yuhang smiled. “You’re still the thoughtful one.”

Lin Yan handed her a new set of pajamas. “I’m going to shower first. Make yourself at home.”

“Not together?” Song Yuhang retorted.

Lin Yan threw the towel straight in her face and slammed the bathroom door shut angrily. “Get lost!!!”

Song Yuhang shrugged helplessly, placed the towel and pajamas neatly on the sofa, planning to wear them after her shower, and began to survey the entire villa.

A maid came to clean every day, so it was spotlessly clean. The floor was polished enough to reflect images, without a single strand of hair.

The marble tiles reflected a cold light under the stark white glare of the chandelier.

Song Yuhang shook her head, found the wall lamp switch, turned off the chandelier, and switched to a warm yellow light, which made the place feel much cozier. She also turned on the central air conditioning, setting the heat to a comfortable 28 degrees Celsius.

Lin Yan really didn’t know how to live. Such a nice house was wasted on her.

Her gaze went through the French windows to the outside. In the courtyard, a few roses and wintersweet flowers swayed in the cold wind.

Song Yuhang, wearing slippers, ran out and picked a few. She also plucked some small wild chrysanthemums from a corner for garnish.

After coming back, she rummaged through Lin Yan’s well-stocked liquor cabinet, found a bottle suitable for a vase, washed it, trimmed the flower stems, and arranged them in it on the bar counter.

Once a snow-white tablecloth was spread, the atmosphere immediately changed.

Song Yuhang took two steps back to admire her handiwork, very satisfied. She took out her phone from her pocket and pressed the shutter button.

Seeing Lin Yan hadn’t come out yet, she washed her hands again and prepared to warm a cup of milk for her to drink before bed. She also checked the refrigerator to see what ingredients were available to make breakfast for her tomorrow.

Although Lin Yan didn’t cook, a chef came over frequently, so the double-door refrigerator was reasonably well-stocked.

Song Yuhang took out a piece of chicken breast to defrost and washed some cherry tomatoes, which could also be eaten as fruit later. She then noticed fresh mangoes in the fruit basket nearby.

After thinking, she decided to make her a steamed egg custard with milk—nutritious and delicious. Lin Yan was a picky eater; she might not find plain milk appealing.

When Lin Yan came out of the shower drying her hair, Song Yuhang was cracking eggs into a bowl. After a period of intensive cooking practice, her movements were quite proficient.

Suddenly seeing the warm yellow light, the spread tablecloth, and the fresh flowers on the bar exuding a delicate fragrance, Lin Yan almost thought she had walked into the wrong house.

Hearing the movement, Song Yuhang glanced back at her. “Making a late-night snack. Go dry your hair yourself. It’ll be ready to eat in a bit.”

“What are you making? I can’t eat too much—” Lin Yan mumbled, walking closer to her and standing on tiptoe to rest her chin on Song Yuhang’s shoulder.

Song Yuhang tilted her head slightly and smiled. “You have to eat. You need to gain some weight.”

Lin Yan wrinkled her nose. “No way. I have the decorum of a semi-public figure to maintain.”

Song Yuhang scoffed, “Qi¹¹,” and fed her a piece of diced mango.

“When you were cursing people out on the street and making out passionately with someone, why didn’t you remember your decorum as a public figure then?”

For some reason, the food Song Yuhang made always suited her taste perfectly. Lin Yan ate one piece and opened her mouth for more. “Ah—”

Song Yuhang sighed, covered the bowl—she hadn’t cut much to begin with—and fed her the last piece.

“Alright, no more. I still need these for the steamed egg.”

Lin Yan nodded, seemingly obedient, but actually licked clean the juice from Song Yuhang’s fingertips as well.

Song Yuhang remembered the softness of her body. Her eyes darkened slightly, and she turned her face away a little stiffly, then turned on the stove.

“Turn off the heat in ten minutes, don’t forget. Actually, never mind. I’ll go shower first. I’ll turn it off myself when I come out.”

With that, she took off her apron, placed it on the counter, and hurried into the bathroom.

Watching her retreating figure as if fleeing in disarray, a slight curve appeared on Lin Yan’s lips.

Usually, when she came back alone, she would either hole up in the lab, or drink and go straight to bed, or not come home at all. She rarely experienced such a tranquil night.

Lin Yan leaned against the sofa, drying her hair. The French curtains were drawn. The pot on the gas stove was simmering with a zizi sound. While Song Yuhang was cooking earlier, she had also turned on the projector at low volume, and an arthouse film was playing.

Washed cherry tomatoes were on the table. She sat cross-legged on the sofa, watching the movie and popping a tomato into her mouth from time to time, feeling very content.

After a short while, the sound of steam lifting the pot lid came from the kitchen. Lin Yan thought, “Oh no!” and ran towards it barefoot before she even had time to put on her shoes.

Song Yuhang was just coming out of the bathroom. “Don’t—”

Lin Yan had already snatched her hand back like lightning, her eyes red from the burn.

Song Yuhang ran over, turned off the stove, turned on the tap, and pulled Lin Yan’s fingers under the cool running water.

“Didn’t I tell you to wait for me to come out and turn it off?”

“Wu, I was too hasty…” Lin Yan said softly, pressing her reddened fingertips to her ear to cool them. Wrapped in the oversized bathrobe, she looked so small.

“It’s okay, it didn’t blister. It’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

Song Yuhang’s gaze fell on her bare feet. She scooped Lin Yan up. Lin Yan readily wrapped her legs around Song Yuhang’s waist and her arms around her neck.

As she walked, she grumbled, “When will you ever let me stop worrying about you? From now on, remember to turn off the heat before lifting the lid, got it?”

Lin Yan nodded, pulling Song Yuhang’s ear and yelling, “Go-o-o-t i-i-i-t!”

Song Yuhang plopped her onto the sofa. Her ears were red as she went, stone-faced, to clean up the mess Lin Yan had left in the kitchen.

In Lin Yan’s short life thus far, she had never experienced such a quiet and gentle night.

Her life had mostly been fraught with danger and full of twists and turns. In her youth, she was rebellious and unruly, provoking many gangsters from outside her school. Since she disliked forming cliques, her commute to and from school was her most dangerous time.

She often ran wildly through streets and alleys with her schoolbag, or was cornered and beaten up at the entrance of an alley.

Her reasons for hitting people were usually just because she didn’t like the look of them, while others hit her simply because she had provoked some reasonably good-looking boy.

If there were too many, she couldn’t beat them. So, she would wait for someone to be alone, then grab a brick and smash them until they were bloody.

Hit and run, never lingering to fight.

Therefore, the gangsters from all the schools in Jiangcheng City hated her to the bone.

She skipped classes, was late, left early, and her grades plummeted. She smoked, played cards, surfed the internet—there was no mischief she wouldn’t get into. She integrated into society too early, living a life of violence and turmoil.

The last time she had watched a movie like this, head to head with someone, was shortly after she met Chen Chunan.

They weren’t this intimate back then, though. She forgot why, but Lin Youyuan had cut off her allowance. Penniless, she and Chen Chunan had snuck into the cinema without tickets.

She had already forgotten what movie they watched that day.

She only remembered the curiosity and longing on Chen Chunan’s face as she fiddled with the projector, and the joyful excitement when the images actually appeared on the big screen.

Two small hands clasped together.

They sat in front of the screen.

Chen Chunan’s face overflowed with immense excitement. “Lin Yan, this is my first time watching a movie!”

“Really? Then let’s come often in the future.” The young Lin Yan rubbed her nose, not telling her that it was actually her first time too.

She wasn’t favored in the Lin family; no one would specially take her to watch a movie.

Unfortunately, their good time didn’t last long. They were soon discovered by the cinema manager and chased out, driven down a whole street. He even threatened to call the police, to have them thrown in jail, and viciously cursed their entire families.

Chen Chunan was on the verge of tears.

Lin Yan grabbed a handful of sand from the ground and threw it at him, then knocked the old man headfirst into a pile of trash, covered his head with a bucket, and punched and kicked him, especially his lower body. Before the police arrived, she pulled Chen Chunan and ran off like a streak of smoke.

Song Yuhang held her. The two of them snuggled on the sofa, watching two little girls in Western dresses running hand-in-hand in the movie. She kissed Lin Yan’s hair and asked her.

“I haven’t asked you yet, was Chen Chunan your first love?”

If so, for Lin Yan to have relentlessly pursued the killer for fourteen years, that love must have been bone-deep. How could she then so easily accept her? This had always been a question in Song Yuhang’s mind, but she never had the chance to ask.

Now, the atmosphere was just right, and Lin Yan’s mood was exceptionally calm.

She finally voiced the question.

Lin Yan looked up at her, shook her head firmly, and said softly, “It’s precisely because she wasn’t my first love that I’ve held onto it so much, wanting to seek justice for her.”

“My life was a mess back then. If it weren’t for her, I might be in prison right now, let alone sitting here, being a forensic doctor, having my current status and position.”

“She was the one who cleared away all the clouds in my sky. She was my hope, my salvation.”

Even after so many years, mentioning her still made Lin Yan’s eyes redden slightly, her voice a little hoarse.

“But we weren’t in that kind of relationship. I was so ignorant back then, how would I have known about these things?”

“By the time I understood, it was already too late.”

Perhaps in everyone’s life, there should be such a person—not a lover, not a partner, someone you’ve never hugged or kissed, never done anything ambiguous with, perhaps never even met, connected only by an internet cable. But that doesn’t stop them from playing a significant role in your life, whether by offering wisdom, companionship, warmth, or hope.

Whenever you think of them, as long as such a person exists, the world gains an extra layer of vibrant color. Even those reckless youthful days, those times of intense suffering, become endearing.

Chen Chunan was such an existence.

Her affection for Chen Chunan encompassed all of the above, yet it did not include sex or romantic love.

How, then, could it be called a “first love”?

This is just a small part of everyone’s youth.

And for Lin Yan, Chen Chunan’s sudden passing added even more regret. Just as she had once said, why can’t beautiful things last in the world, while darkness ultimately engulfs humanity?

This was inherently unfair. Moreover, every night when dreams brought back memories of her friend’s tragic death, Lin Yan would toss and turn, unable to sleep. This unresolved grievance eventually grew into a stubborn thorn in her heart, causing her unbearable pain.

Song Yuhang understood.

She held Lin Yan’s head, pressing her into her embrace, stroking her hair. “I came too late.”

Too late to be her childhood sweetheart¹², too late to walk with her through her thorny adolescence, and too late to accompany her when she studied abroad across the ocean.

Song Yuhang even regretted bringing up the topic. “I’m sorry, I…”

The person buried in her embrace stirred, looked up at her, tear tracks still visible at the corners of her eyes, yet a smile was on her face. She gently pulled Song Yuhang down.

“It’s not late. Right now is just perfect.”

Every time she hit rock bottom, a pair of hands would firmly pull her out. In her youth, it was Chen Chunan; in her young adulthood, it was Song Yuhang. How many people in the world could be so lucky, to continuously meet people who were good to them?

A little earlier, Lin Yan didn’t understand affection and was full of thorns; Song Yuhang didn’t understand love and was ignorant and naive. It might not have led to the best outcome.

But now, both having passed the age of thirty¹³, they knew exactly what the other wanted and could give it to them.

What Lin Yan offered was not just her lips, but also her own heart—battered, broken, tattered, yet spotlessly clean.

What Song Yuhang gave her was her loyal faith, her fearless love, and a pure, uncorrupted heart¹⁴.

The sound of rustling fabric, Song Yuhang responded to her gently. What was being said on the TV gradually faded from hearing.

Outside, it had started snowing at some point—the first snow of this winter.

Legend says that those who encounter the first snow will have a whole year of good luck.

The room, separated by the curtains, was warm and cozy. Lin Yan peeked from the corner of Song Yuhang’s clothes and saw snowflakes drifting under the streetlight through a gap. She mumbled indistinctly, “It’s… it’s snowing.”

Song Yuhang glanced back, then buried her head again. “Mm… too cold, not going out.”

Despite saying that, she couldn’t resist Lin Yan’s persistent coaxing. The two of them dressed warmly and went out to play for a while.

That night, after coming back from outside and soaking her feet, Lin Yan slept very soundly. For the first time, she didn’t drink, take medication, or have any “pre-sleep exercise.”

Song Yuhang carried her to bed, dimmed the bedside lamp to its lowest setting, snuggled into the covers, and held her.

Someone who was never keen on sharing her life posted her first status update.

—I will always be loyal to the ideal and you.

I will always be loyal to my ideals and to you.

Ding dong. The phone on the bedside table rang—it was the notification sound for a “special follow.”

Ji Jingxing fumbled for her phone, swiped open the screen, and saw the accompanying picture. A complex mix of emotions washed over her.

The photo showed a vase quietly placed under a dim yellow light. Song Yuhang had never shown such delicate thoughtfulness before.

Two pairs of fluffy couple’s slippers placed side by side.

And Lin Yan, wearing a woolen hat, standing under a streetlight, blowing snow towards the camera.

Ji Jingxing closed her eyes for a moment. Her fingertip moved to the trash can icon.

“Remove from Special Follows?”

She steeled her heart and tapped “Confirm.” Two lines of clear tears streamed down her face. She turned and hugged her daughter tightly, gently patting her back to lull her to sleep.

In the days that followed, Song Yuhang never would have imagined that she and Lin Yan, relying on this very sentence, would withstand others’ verbal abuse and attacks, their families’ protests and lack of understanding, their opponents’ attempts to sow discord, the crumbling of their relationship, as well as hails of bullets, tumultuous years, and numerous near-death escapes, ultimately achieving their happy ending¹⁵.

In her entire life, Song Yuhang only ever posted three status updates, and every single one was related to Lin Yan.

---

The next morning, Lin Yan, as she wished, woke up late again. Song Yuhang had already made breakfast.

“Eat quickly, or you’ll be late again.”

Song Yuhang hadn’t tormented her last night, so Lin Yan had slept reasonably well and her appetite was okay. She ate a sandwich and a small bowl of salad. Song Yuhang didn’t let her eat more, handing her half a glass of milk instead.

“The salad is a bit cold, don’t eat any more. Finish this and we’ll go.”

Lin Yan protested, yelling and shouting, only to be pressed down on the table early in the morning and “taught a lesson” thoroughly.

This time, they were truly late.

However, being late and leaving early were common occurrences for Lin Yan. And Song Yuhang, after all, was a division-level cadre, so no one dared to say anything.

The two of them, with great tacit understanding, went their separate ways as soon as they entered the city bureau gates, ignoring each other completely.

During meetings, Lin Yan would still glare, mock, and satirize her as usual. Song Yuhang, not to be outdone, would retort sharply, her spit flying and landing on the faces of those below.

On the surface, they seemed as incompatible as fire and water. But come lunchtime, they would both disappear with the same tacit understanding. Either Song Yuhang would emerge from an empty duty room adjusting her collar, or Lin Yan would come out of Song Yuhang’s office alone, holding her lower back.

When it was time to get off work in the afternoon, Lin Yan left on the dot as usual. Song Yuhang, hands in her pockets, walked past her expressionlessly.

Neither looked at the other, both too lazy to even spare a glance. In reality, Song Yuhang said in a voice only Lin Yan could hear, “I’m coming to your place tonight.”

Lin Yan raised an eyebrow, a cold smirk appearing on her face, and walked away in her high heels.

After a short while, Lin Yan, waiting in the car, was getting a bit impatient when Song Yuhang finally changed her clothes, opened the car door, and got in.

She glanced back. “No one’s following you, right?”

Song Yuhang smiled and fastened her seatbelt. “The person who can follow me without me noticing probably hasn’t been born yet.”

Lin Yan scoffed and stepped on the accelerator. “The place is set. It’s still early. There’s a mall downstairs, let’s go browse and buy some things.”

Song Yuhang always did as she said, except when the bureau needed her to maintain the necessary dignity and face of a criminal investigation captain.

“Alright, let’s go. Buy some no-rinse hand sanitizer, so we don’t have to run off to wash our hands every time the mood strikes…”

Lin Yan swerved the steering wheel, almost veering into another lane, and exclaimed in exasperation, “Song Yuhang, can’t you think about anything else besides this all day long?!”

After they finished shopping at the mall and came out, Song Yuhang delightedly carried the hand sanitizer she wanted, along with a large shopping bag, and put them in the trunk, then locked the car.

The two of them walked upstairs towards the hotpot restaurant together.

To their utter surprise, Lin Ge was already waiting.

The hotpot base was already on the table. Lin Ge knew she couldn’t handle spicy food well, so he had ordered a yuanyang pot¹⁶.

Hearing a noise at the private room door, Lin Ge stood up, but he hadn’t expected them to come in together.

Song Yuhang’s hand was on Lin Yan’s shoulder, not in the casual arm-around-the-shoulder way of friends, but resting a little lower, protectively letting Lin Yan enter first, even thoughtfully pulling out a chair for her.

Lin Yan didn’t sit in the chair Lin Ge had pulled out for her, instead choosing one slightly further away.

The two of them sat opposite him.

Lin Yan spoke first. “Ge¹⁷, we ran into Officer Song on the way. You don’t mind an extra person, do you?”

Lin Ge smiled and asked the waiter to bring an extra set of bowls and chopsticks. “Why would I mind? After all, Miss Song and I are friends too. Hotpot is livelier with more people.”

He passed the menu over. “I just ordered some things. See what else you want, and order a bit more.”

Lin Yan took it and ordered some more vegetables, meat, and other things—all of which were favorites of the other person.

Lin Ge handed the menu to the waiter. “You can serve it now.”

“Certainly, Mr. Lin.”

The meal was interspersed with casual conversation, including updates on Lin Ge’s mother’s condition. Lin Ge reached out to pour them wine, but Song Yuhang quickly covered Lin Yan’s cup.

“We won’t drink, juice is fine. We have work tomorrow.”

Lin Yan shot her a sidelong glare: I want to drink, sister!

Song Yuhang squeezed her hand under the table: Shut up. If you want to drink, drink at home.

Lin Ge paused for a moment, then poured himself a drink. “Alright, then I’ll drink.”

Song Yuhang raised her glass. “Juice instead of wine. Cheers!”

Lin Yan’s mouth twitched. She rolled her eyes and picked up some food with her chopsticks.

After several rounds of drinks and courses, she finally remembered the main topic.

“Ge, do you know that Gao Qiang?” Lin Yan asked tentatively.

Lin Ge frowned slightly. “Who?”

A subconscious retort.

Song Yuhang and she exchanged a look.

Lin Yan, biting her chopsticks, slowly helped him recall. “The one at your birthday party, who danced with me and tried to take advantage of me.”

Lin Ge suddenly realized. “Oh, him. I’d forgotten if you hadn’t mentioned it. I forgot which friend brought him. I only met him that one time. What’s wrong? Didn’t I hear on the news recently that his family went bankrupt? Or… did he harass you again?”

Lin Ge tightened his grip on his wine glass. “Whoever dares to harass you, I’ll break his legs, I will.”

Lin Yan smiled. “Aiyo, it’s not that easy to harass me. That son of a b#tch¹⁸ would go down in one move. No, I was just curious, asking casually.”

Song Yuhang observed their interaction and expressions—flawless. Lin Yan then indirectly asked where he was on the night of January 15th. The reply was that he was at the hospital with his mother for a check-up.

In that case, he wouldn’t have had the time to commit the crime.

Lin Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and raised her juice cup to clink with Lin Ge’s. “Cheers!”

Song Yuhang also took a sip. Just as she sat down, her phone rang. Seeing the caller’s name, she didn’t want to answer.

Lin Yan glanced at her, her smile a little cold.

Song Yuhang hung up.

Ji Jingxing called her three times.

Lin Yan turned her face away nonchalantly. “Answer it. What if it’s really something urgent?”

Lin Ge stopped his chopsticks and looked at them.

Song Yuhang thought for a moment. Just as she was about to answer, the call disconnected. Immediately after, another call came in—it was from the city bureau.

The person on the other end had just said one sentence when she shot up to her feet. “What?! Xiao Wei is missing?!”

In her anxiety, she didn’t forget to glance at Lin Yan. Lin Yan pressed her lips together, her expression serious. She nodded, signaling for Song Yuhang to go first.

Only then did Song Yuhang run out, firing off a barrage of questions. “When was the case reported? Who reported it? Have they found her yet?!”

The operator’s voice was also somewhat anxious. “She went missing four hours ago. The victim’s mother reported it. When we entered it into the system and checked, we found it was related to you… so we called you immediately.”

Song Yuhang closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and pushed open the mall doors.

“Get the surveillance footage first. I’ll be right back.”

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LP: Re-translated on June 08, 2025

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